Author(s)

Long Zhang¹, Shuran Song^1,2,3,4*, Daozong Sun^1,3,4, Xiuyun Xue^1,2,4, Qiufang Dai^1,2,4, Zhen Li^1,2,3,4

¹College of Electronic Engineering, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.
²Division of Citrus Machinery, China Agriculture Research System, Guangzhou, China.
³Guangdong Engineering Research Center for Monitoring Agricultural Information, Guangzhou, China.
⁴Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center for Mountainous Orchard Machinery, Guangzhou, China.

To discuss the effects of pesticide viscosity on the atomisation characteristics of an agricultural nozzle, glycerite with different mass fractions was prepared to replace the pesticide. First, the atomisation region of the nozzle was meshed and sized. Second, the speed and kinetic energy of the droplets at different positions in the atomisation region were measured by Phase Doppler Anemometry. The results demonstrated that the Sauter mean diameter, volume mean diameter and arithmetic mean diameter of droplets first decreased and then increased gradually in the axial direction of the atomisation region. Surface waves of a certain pattern were formed on the liquid surface, which was ejected by the disturbance of external air resistance. As the distance increased, the amplitude increased and the wave crest was broken into small droplets. These droplets then collided and agglomerated into large droplets under the effect of gravity. Droplets had an approximately symmetric distribution on the radial direction of the atomisation region, and the droplets were small in the middle and large at the two ends. The droplet size was positively related to the radial distance. Compared with the droplet speed at the two ends, the droplet speed at the axis was higher and the droplet size was smaller. Moreover, the kinetic energy of the droplets along the axial direction decreased sharply and then increased slowly. Droplets with high viscosity at the near end of the nozzle had small kinetic energy, and the effects of liquid viscosity on the atomisation characteristics of a nozzle could not be neglected. The droplet kinetic energy slightly increased at the far end.

Viscosity, Atomisation, Droplet Spectrum, Droplet Size, Droplet Kinetic Energy

Zhang, L. , Song, S. , Sun, D. , Xue, X. , Dai, Q. and Li, Z. (2019) Effects of Liquid Viscosity on Agricultural Nozzle Droplet Parameters. Agricultural Sciences, 10, 1217-1239. doi: 10.4236/as.2019.109091.